This guide will help YOU choose what parts to use and what willwork for YOU. This is basically the method I go through when I help someonewith their setups. This guide will offer insight as to what each part shouldaccomplish during a match, but what I say is by no means the only way. Iwill tell you most general (and probably efficient) way to use them, butdon't be afraid to experiment with variations (I would suggest you doactually).

An easy way to get started is to do some matches with full standardset on ray mk2 or 3. Play for a while, watch how you play and what you do,and take that into consideration as you make your set.

I would also suggest you write everything down that you discover, the mainfactors of one part can also effect another, so it's useful to have that infowritten down somewhere.

The Robo is the center of the customization. It will dictate howyou play as well as the rest of your customization. This is often the mostimportant choice, sometimes a simple robo change can make a good set a greatone. When deciding on a robo, there are 6 (main) factors you should takeinto consideration (in no particular order):

SizeSpeedEnduranceDefenseAir MobilityMelee Type

Size - This determines how big of a target you are (sounds obvious, but itdoes need to be taken into consideration). Smaller is not alwaysbetter, and neither is bigger or average. Remember that guns aim atthe center of the robo, so the bigger the robo, the more you'll haveto move to dodge. Also note the location of the gun on each robo, asthat will effect where the round starts when you fire it.

Speed - Possibly the most important factor. Base this on how fast you want thematch to move. Slow and steady can work wonders, as can being fastand random.

Endurance - This can be both a weakness and a strength. Higher endurancemeans you can fight longer but take more damage, whereas lowerendurance stops you in your tracks, but lowers damage (downed robosget about an 80% defense buff).

Air mobility - This will dictate how much time you spend in the air, whichwill ultimately change the rest of your customization. If you like tobe aerial, don't choose a grounded robo and vice versa.

Melee type - This can help once you've picked a type of robo, but can't choosejust one. Try all the melees and see which one fits your style best,i.e. which one you'll be able to use better in battle(note the use of BETTER not MORE)

Shining Fighter (this is what all other robos will be based upon)Size - AverageSpeed - AverageEndurance - AverageDefense - AVerageAir Mobility - 2 Air dashes*Other Notes: These robo get a larger boost out of whatever legsthey have equiped

Metal GrapplerSize - Taller and much Wider than Shining Fighters - Largest RobosSpeed - Much slower than Shining FightersEndurance - Much Higher than Shining FightersDefense - Much Higher than Shining FightersAir Mobility - 1 Air dash*Other Notes: These robos have noticably less down time than others

Sassy StunnerSize - Slightly taller than Shining FightersSpeed - Roughly the same as Shining FightersEndurance - Roughly the same as Shining FightersDefense - Roughly the same as Shining FightersAir Mobility - 4 Air dashes*Other Notes: Air dashes are fairly short, high initial jump

Wild SoldierSize - Taller than Shining FightersSpeed - Slightly slower than Shining FightersEndurance - Roughly the same as Shining FightersDefense - Higher than Shining FightersAir Mobility - 2 Air dashes*Other Notes: Air dashes are very fast and move robo downward, hardto use both without leg modifications. Do NOT have lessreload even though the game says they do.

Trick FlyerSize - Taller and Skinnier than Shining FightersSpeed - Slower than Shining FightersEndurance - Roughly the same as Shining FightersDefense - Slightly less than Shining FIghtersAir Mobility - 3 Air dashes*Other Notes: Air dashes are very fast

Strike VanisherSize - Slightly taller than Shining FightersSpeed - Slightly less than Shining FightersEndurance - Roughly the same as Shining FightersDefense - Roughly the same as Shining FightersAir MObility - 2 Air dashes*Other Notes: Can air dash through gun shots, but not bomb/podblasts

Burning BeastSize - Overall roughly the same as Metal Grapplers but moves on allfours so height is reduced and gunis fired froma lower angleSpeed - Slightly Slower than Shining FightersEndurance - Roughly the same as Shining FightersDefense - Roughly the same as Shining FightersAir Mobility - 1 Air dash*Other Notes: Can air dash through gun shots, but not bomb/podblasts

Lightning SkySize - Taller than Shining FightersSpeed - Slightly slower than Shining FightersEndurance - Slightly less than Shining FightersDefense - Roughly the same as Shining FightersAir Mobility - 1 Air Dash*Other Notes - Air dash is ver long and can fire gun during the dashwithout pause from reload

The gun is most likely your main damager, but shouldn't be yourmain attack. Bombs and Pods should be used much more than your gun becausethey don't leave you anywhere near as vulnerable. With most guns you shouldonly fire if you know it will hit or if you know your opponent can't counterit (there are some exceptions, such as guns that pause in mid air). That'swhere your bombs and pods come in, they should stop/distract your opponent soyou can hit them with your gun. Also, your gun will probably only hit abouthalf the time at best, so don't be discouraged when you miss. There are4 (main) factors to look at:

Effective RangeSpeedReloadHoming

Effective Range - The range will probably be decided by the robo you choose,but you don't have to use guns at the range they are rated for(i.e. you can use long range at close range) How your robo moves canaffect the range at which it can fire effectively from.

Speed - Faster guns can be used at longer range. It's a simple as that. Lookat what your effective range is, then decide what speeds are viablefor that range. If close range is viable, slow weapons may be a goodchoice, but homing can have a greater impact than speed.

Reload - Time where you can't move after you fire. This is also the time whenyou are most vulnerable. This is especially important to consider foryour other parts, so it is a good idea to look into it now.

Homing - Better homing means better accuracy, but isn't a guarantee. Take allclaims of homing with a grain of salt, don't expect great homing tomean a great weapon. This is the factor of guns that is most reliant onplay style. If you tend to fire a lot and randomly, homing is probablygood for you. If you plan all your attacks and know exactly what isgoing to happen it isn't as much of a concern.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////3. Finding the right pair of Legs:\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

This may seem like the least important aspect of a robo, but itreally can make or break it. The most important thing to know is that legsonly enhance your robo, they don't make it any worse. Some people may thinkto choose legs to compensate for weaknesses, like putting formula on a slowrobo. That is generally not a good idea. Pick legs that enhance what yourrobo is good at and helps you get into the effective range of your gun.

~*~Breakdown of Legs~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Bombs general should cover the weakness of your gun, i.e. it shouldbe good at what your gun isn't. If your gun fires straight and fast, yourbomb should block off where they are going so it can hit. You can also havea bomb that works off a guns strengths, i.e. use a straight flying bomb witha straight gun to combo. My advice is to do the former, but both methods canwork well. The best way to pick your bomb is to seriously look at how yourgun fires. Go into training mode and just move around and use it and watchhow it moves. Watch what happens when you fire it from different areas andwhat tends to happen when it hits. Use all the info you gained from choosingyour gun to choose your bomb. Figure out what the bomb needs to accomplish toget your gun to hit. Also, bombs only hit maybe 1/5 of the time, but they canbe used much more often and without fear of countering than guns can, sodon't expect your bombs to hit, they have a better purpose anyway.

This may be the most complicated choice of the entire process. Orit can be the easiest. Pods need to play to your Robos mobility and workWITH your bomb to get your gun to hit.First, mobility: There are 3 types of pod mobility:

StationaryHomingFree Roaming

Stationary - these are best left to speedy robos. They can set them, thenmove away fast enough so that they can be used in conjunction withyour bombs and gun.

Homing - Good for anything, but always know where they and your opponentare so you can anticipate where they will be.

Free Roaming - These are the pods that launch, move for a set time, thenexplode. These are easily used to block passageways and escaperoutes, and there are usually multiple pods that can be fired.

Second: Working with your bomb and gun. Once you know the mobility of thepod, use that info to anticipate where it will be at a given timeso you can time your bombs to be most effective. You don't want tochoose pods that get in the way of your bomb or gun, all of themneed to be used together. If you have a powerful gun, then you wantthe gun to hit first for the most damage, so avoid pods (and bombsfor that matter) that tend to down opponents early (although thiscannot always be avoided).

Testing a set is the most grueling part of customization. You can'texpect to make a set and have it work perfectly the first time you use it.It just isn't going to happen. Do several battles with each part to get afeel for how it works with the rest of your setup. An easy way to test is tofight the computers, but they never fight quite like a human player, so abetter way would be to fight someone you know and trust and can preferablegive you feedback. Don't junk a customization just because the parts youchose aren't quite working together the way you wanted them to, just tweakvarious parts. Start by adjusting just one, then two, then even three if youare still having trouble. Once you find one part that works very well withyour setup, check the rest of the parts on it, you may still findsomething to improve on.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////7. General Tips\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\1- Don't rely solely on your gun. You should realize by now how importantbombs and pods are.

2- Spamming has it's place, just not for an entire match. Limit how muchyou spam, and if you find you can only neat someone by spamming,you may need to adjust your set.

3- It's generally a bad idea to move straight at your opponent. Always trymove at angles/circle your opponent. That way you are in a constantstate of dodging their gun rounds. When Air dashing, move in azig-zag like pattern, become unpredictable. There are some timeswhen you will want to move straight, such as if your opponent isusing parts that fire to the sides and not directly at you.

4- Setup advantage does exist, but it isn't something that can completelydetermine how a match will end. Any set can beat another, it justtakes the right strategy.

5- If you get angry at loosing to spammers, change your mindset from"Gah, I hate this guy, he has no skill" to something like "Well,he must have such low self esteem he has to be cheap to win. I'mglad I could help with feel better". That is a bit extreme of anexample, but going from pessimism, to optimism can make your daybetter (I'm an optimist if it isn't rampantly apparent)